Two cars of identical mass are approaching the same intersection, one from the south and the one from the west. They reach the intersection at the same time and collide. The cars lock together and move away at an angle of 22deg counterclockwise from the road; heading east. Which car was traveling faster than the other before the collision? Explain your reasoning

4 answers

The momentum component of the combined cars in the eastern direction exceeds the component in the north-traveling direction. Therefore most of the momentum came from the east-traveling car. The ratio is cos22/sin22 = 2.475

Assuming the cars had about the same mass, the east-traveling car had the higher original speed.
Two vehicles are approaching an intersection. One is a 2500-
kg pickup traveling at 14.0 m/s from east to west (the negative x-direction),
and the other is a 1500-kg Mercedes going from south to north (the positive
y-direction at 23.0 m/s). (a) Find the x and y components of the net
momentum of this system. (b) What are the magnitude and direction of the
net momentum?
m1v1v+m2v2=(m1+m2)V
2500*-14i+1500*23j=(3800)V
then X-comp is 2500*-14/3800
Y-comp is 1500*23/3800

P=(m1+m2)V
find the value of V from the square root of the previous ....
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